Amazonian Bolivian wild chocolate
Amazonian Bolivian wild chocolate, it sounds pretty exotic, doesn’t it? Are you a chocolate fan? We are and we’d love to tell you more about one of our favorite sweet treats! ♥
Chocolate is made from cacao, which comes from the seeds of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) that literally means “food of the gods.” The tree comes originally from the tropical forest of Central and South America, where it is very common in wilderness areas such as the Beni region in Bolivia. This is the only place where 100% wild cacao grows.
The word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec word “xocoatl” which referred to a drink brewed from cacao beans. The drink was served cold and tasted spicy and bitter. Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed the cacao bean had magical divine, properties, they used it in the most sacred rituals. The chocolate consumption stretches back to over 2000 years ago. For several centuries in Latin America, cacao beans were considered valuable enough to use as currency.
When Europeans discovered the Americas, they found the original beverage was too bitter, but once mixed with honey or cane sugar, it quickly became popular throughout Spain and the rest of Europe later on. Sweet-tasting hot chocolate as a drink, became a luxury item among the European nobility by the 17th century.
In 1828, the Dutch chemist Coenraad Johannes van Houten found a way to make powdered chocolate with his “Dutch cocoa”. This product was only a little step away from the solid chocolate and after that the modern chocolate bars and candies.
Bolivia is recognized as one of the world’s largest producers of organic cacao.
The wild chocolate is one of the hidden treasures of the Bolivian jungle. The chocolate growing region of Bolivia is Beni, in the tropical northern part of the country. You can visit it during a stay onboard the Reina de Enin Amazon cruiser while you enjoy drinking a cup of hot cocoa, pure Bolivian wild chocolate.
These Amazon forests of Beni are home to the Blue-Throated macaw, endangered species that plays a role in the propagation of the seeds of these cacao trees.
The Bolivian cacao is organic and wild which means that the trees are born and grow without human intervention. Wild cacao is small (almost half the size of their cultivated brothers) but has strong aromatic characteristics which give a superior flavor.
The cacao or “chucraté” in the local dialect (one of the 36 indigenous Bolivian languages) is harvested from the wild by local indigenous communities (the Baures and Moxenos). This cacao grown deep in the Bolivian Amazon jungle (400 m) is also transported to high-altitude factories in La Paz (Chocolates Breick with fine bomboms, tablets and bakery) and Sucre in the Bolivian Andes (4000 m) where it gets processed into fine chocolates. Sucre is considered the chocolate capital of Bolivia, with two of the biggest producers: Chocolates Para tí and Taboada. Besides the traditional chocolate flavors, there is a variety of new flavours with Bolivian ingredients such as amazonian nuts, quinoa, ají pepper and salt from the Uyuni salt flats! Don’t forget to try them when you are in Bolivia. And if you are a real chocoholic, do not miss out on visiting the Chocolate Museum of Sucre.
Where to find Bolivian chocolate?
Bolivian cacao producers are 2021 Cocoa of Excellence Awards winners (Gold and Silver categories).
The Bolivian cacao beans are used by luxury chocolate makers around the world, including Switzerland. The cocoa cooperative El Ceibo exports to USA and Germany and bean-to-bar (“small batch” from cacao beans rather than prepared cacao mass) chocolate makers such as L.A. Burdick, Original Beans (One bar : one tree – Original Beans), Nadalina and many others use Bolivian cacao.
